Defiled
In long, agonizing minutes, drawn out by fear and pain, Drizzt's head slowly began to clear. Gradually, he became conscious of the thick cords around his wrists, binding him to the stone wall behind him. Somehow in his mind he knew that the ropes could not be broken and he didn't try to free himself.
Where was he? Drizzt's mind whirred, but he could find no explanation that would answer the question. How did he come to this place, wherever it may be? Drizzt's eyes flickered as he opened them to see. In a giant lurch forward, the room began spinning wildly and Drizzt was forced to close his eyes again. He took in a deep, shaky breath to steady his racing heart.
"Welcome to my home." A smooth, rich voice floated in soft waves to Drizzt's ears. The ranger gave a slight jump in surprise and his eyes flew open. The room stayed in place this time and through his blurry vision, Drizzt saw a feminine figure standing before him. As Drizzt strained his eyes to better see her, the woman waited silently and patiently.
Drizzt's mouth dropped and he couldn't mask his horror. A drow woman stood before him, tall and confident. Her thick white hair fell down her back to her waist in sparkling ringlets and a slight smile displayed itself on her sleek, ebony skin. A purple and black dress accented her features, coming low at the neck and tight around her waist. Red outline of spiders lined the skirt of her dress, tiny gems shimmering in the design. Drizzt could see the gems twinkling, mocking him and laughing.
"Do you know who I am, Do'Urden?" she asked him, taking a few steps closer. Drizzt blinked his eyes as he studied her further. He had never seen this woman before in his life. What revenge could she have sworn against him?
"I do not," he replied at length, his voice strong.
The woman's smile faded in disgust. "Do you not know the face of your people's deity?" she asked curtly, her eyes narrowing into a glare. "I am Lloth, the goddess of the drow. The queen you abandoned. You should know me."
Drizzt didn't answer her, but he straightened his back rigidly in utter defiance. Lloth began laughing.
"You can't escape this place, Do'Urden," she told him, still chuckling at her own cleverness. "This is my home, my place. You cannot free yourself this time. There will be no escaping from me."
"Why have you brought me here?" Drizzt's words didn't surprise the dark goddess, but she paused still the same, thinking before she answered.
"Long have I watched you," she said slowly. "Long have I seen you defeat my children time and time again. I wanted to see you closer, to study you. What is it that makes you so different that you have left me and turned away from your people?"
"They are not my people," Drizzt spat. "They are yours."
Lloth's eyes glinted evilly. "Do you not share their black skin, the color of the darkest night on the surface? Do you not possess their speed, their skill, their cunning nature that keeps them ahead of any other race? You are my child, Drizzt Do'Urden. My child alone. You are not a surface- dweller and never will be."
Rage swelled within Drizzt as he heard the words, spoken ever so calmly. Lloth fell silent, waiting for her prisoner to speak, but Drizzt made no movement to reply. Gracefully, in silent steps, Lolth came forward and knelt beside Drizzt.
"You've traveled far," she said softly, brushing a few strands of hair from his face. "You were lost, but now that I have you here, you will come back to me." Lolth's lips were painted red and they shimmered slightly as she neared him, her hand behind her back, holding the whip tightly in her clenched hand.
Drizzt's foot came forward like a bolt of lightning. It rammed Lolth in the chest and she fell back with a groan. Out came the whip and it bit into Drizzt. Pain engulfed him and he screamed.
"This is the payment you will receive, traitor!" she sneered. "Centuries will go by and you will know what it means to forsake me! You will see, Do'Urden, and you will die in my chains!"
The whip came down again and Drizzt braced himself for the blow. Tears of burning hatred rimming his eyes, Drizzt gave way to the darkness.
"Wake now," a soothing voice murmured. "You goddess calls you forth." Drizzt came back to consciousness at the sound of Lloth's calling. "Our time is not yet finished."
Drizzt felt the pain of the cuts on his body, but he didn't show it. His gaze met Lloth's and he did not turn away. What now? he thought, wanting only to sink back into his maze of shadow.
"Questions need to be answered," she told him, as if replying to the unspoken question in Drizzt's mind.
"Ask then," Drizzt snapped. Lloth smiled evilly.
"Why do you call yourself friend to the dwarves and the deep gnomes? Why have you turned away from your people?"
"I am not like the other-" Lloth's hand waved the words away quickly.
"So I have heard," she responded distastefully, standing up and moving away from her throne. "I want the true reason. I want to know what turned you away from me and from Menzoberranzan."
"That is the reason," Drizzt told her. Lloth raised her open hand as if to slap Drizzt, but he didn't wince in fear so she decided against it.
"We will discuss that later," she replied pointedly.
"You've made friends on the surface world, haven't you, Drizzt?" Lloth's wicked intentions were reflected in her eyes as they bore into Drizzt. "You are not alone in your quests. Describe your friends."
Never, Drizzt cried out silently. Let Lloth be damned. He would live a hundred lifetimes of torture before he betrayed his companions. They were all he had and all he would ever have.
Lloth waited, watching the anger mounting within the renegade drow. She closed her eyes to concentrate and sent her ideas Drizzt's way, letting them enter his mind.
Unwelcomed images swarmed around Drizzt's head, blocking his view of Lloth. It was if he were watching from above as Lloth took him through the tunnels of the Underdark, retracing the steps Drizzt had once made many years before. Suddenly bodies came into view-dead ones, ones that had been killed in battle.
Drizzt looked ahead stonily, noticing the row of dwarves on the floor. Bruenor was dead, his broken ax beside his still body. Drow magic, Drizzt knew, would be the only thing powerful enough to break such a powerful weapon.
From somewhere up ahead in the distant tunnels, Wulfgar roared, a cry to Tempus. It was a final cry not to be heard again and he heard the screeching of a thousand beholders ring out victoriously.
The images in his mind shifted. Slowly, a certain halfling came into view, a ruby necklace around his neck and a small mace in his hand. The mace would be of no use against drow weapons and the halfling dropped it in his run. Regis's head turned only once to see five drow warriors drop from the stalactites above and surround him. Drizzt watched the drow torment the halfling, taunting him in their malice, giving him small wounds and laughing. Then one of the drow came forward and her sword sucked the life from the defenseless halfling.
Before Drizzt could dwell on the falling body of his companion, the pictures swirled together and sent Drizzt into Menzoberranzan. Chills raced up Drizzt's spine, but he shook them away as he was brought into the dark alleyways of the city.
A woman, her footsteps hasty and quick, was running through the alleys. Drizzt didn't want to watch, but he couldn't close his eyes. Catti-brie ran on, knowing that she was being followed, knowing that it would not be long until she would have to use the sword tight in her hand.
"You're far from home," Drizzt heard a voice say. In slow, relaxed steps, a male drow came into view. Catti-brie stopped, Khazid'hea flashing. The drow laughed.
"You cannot even hope to bring me down," he assured her. Catti- brie's determined face was all he needed as a reply. On the drow came, its blade slapping against Catti-brie's sword. Catti-brie made a weak attempt to parry and it was then that Drizzt noticed that deep, bleeding gash that ran across the woman's shoulder.
Drizzt wanted to rush out to her, but he couldn't. This was only for him to watch. The drow and the woman exchanged attacks, Catti-brie always managing to skirt away from devastating damage at the last second. Still, she had scored no hits on the drow.
Catti-brie let out a deep breath and then twisted her body into a daring move. She slipped down to one knee, leaving her chest exposed in the process. The drow saw the opening, but he didn't see Catti-brie's foot slam into the side of his face.
A silent cheer ran through Drizzt's mind as he saw the drow fall back. Catti-brie's sword slid through him in a matter of seconds. Her shallow breathing and holding her wounded shoulder weakly brought Drizzt back to the appalling reality. Too engrossed with watching Catti-brie compose herself, he never noticed the dark figure on the top of the nearby roof. He never saw the drow take aim, carefully positioning his crossbow. He never saw the drow's finger pull the trigger guiltlessly. But Drizzt did see the crossbow quarrel imbed itself deep in Catti-brie's stomach.
Drizzt screamed and all of his willpower went into shutting his eyes. Then, as if the haunting images had never come, he was back in Lloth's lair.
"Never will that happen," he snarled. "Never would I let them die."
"How do you know that they aren't already dead?" she countered coolly. Drizzt's eyes went wide and he was unable to move, a victim of shock. The drow goddess laughed.
"Tell me, Drizzt Do'Urden," she whispered, "what god's path do you now follow, since you have forsaken me?" Lloth's words were like ice as she breathed them upon her captive. She reached down with her long, slender fingers. Drizzt's mouth dropped as she came forward and he tried to push himself away. He backed against the wall, wishing that his hands were free. Lloth plucked the medallion from beneath Drizzt's shirt.
She screamed.
The medallion glowed a burning red and Lloth dropped it, her hands scalded.
"You damned wretch!" she shrieked as she caught sight of the unicorn on the medallion. "You follow Mielikki!"
Drizzt was confused, but he didn't show it. The medallion had hurt Lloth. His goddess, his saving goddess, heard his unspoken prayers.
"You will wish you were dead," Lloth growled. Hope washed away again as Drizzt saw the fires in Lloth's eyes. Almost magically, the whip appeared in her hands and she came forward in three long strides. She raised her hand, bringing the whip high. Then it fell, coming down upon the defenseless Drizzt. It cut through the air, time slowing, time stopping....
In long, agonizing minutes, drawn out by fear and pain, Drizzt's head slowly began to clear. Gradually, he became conscious of the thick cords around his wrists, binding him to the stone wall behind him. Somehow in his mind he knew that the ropes could not be broken and he didn't try to free himself.
Where was he? Drizzt's mind whirred, but he could find no explanation that would answer the question. How did he come to this place, wherever it may be? Drizzt's eyes flickered as he opened them to see. In a giant lurch forward, the room began spinning wildly and Drizzt was forced to close his eyes again. He took in a deep, shaky breath to steady his racing heart.
"Welcome to my home." A smooth, rich voice floated in soft waves to Drizzt's ears. The ranger gave a slight jump in surprise and his eyes flew open. The room stayed in place this time and through his blurry vision, Drizzt saw a feminine figure standing before him. As Drizzt strained his eyes to better see her, the woman waited silently and patiently.
Drizzt's mouth dropped and he couldn't mask his horror. A drow woman stood before him, tall and confident. Her thick white hair fell down her back to her waist in sparkling ringlets and a slight smile displayed itself on her sleek, ebony skin. A purple and black dress accented her features, coming low at the neck and tight around her waist. Red outline of spiders lined the skirt of her dress, tiny gems shimmering in the design. Drizzt could see the gems twinkling, mocking him and laughing.
"Do you know who I am, Do'Urden?" she asked him, taking a few steps closer. Drizzt blinked his eyes as he studied her further. He had never seen this woman before in his life. What revenge could she have sworn against him?
"I do not," he replied at length, his voice strong.
The woman's smile faded in disgust. "Do you not know the face of your people's deity?" she asked curtly, her eyes narrowing into a glare. "I am Lloth, the goddess of the drow. The queen you abandoned. You should know me."
Drizzt didn't answer her, but he straightened his back rigidly in utter defiance. Lloth began laughing.
"You can't escape this place, Do'Urden," she told him, still chuckling at her own cleverness. "This is my home, my place. You cannot free yourself this time. There will be no escaping from me."
"Why have you brought me here?" Drizzt's words didn't surprise the dark goddess, but she paused still the same, thinking before she answered.
"Long have I watched you," she said slowly. "Long have I seen you defeat my children time and time again. I wanted to see you closer, to study you. What is it that makes you so different that you have left me and turned away from your people?"
"They are not my people," Drizzt spat. "They are yours."
Lloth's eyes glinted evilly. "Do you not share their black skin, the color of the darkest night on the surface? Do you not possess their speed, their skill, their cunning nature that keeps them ahead of any other race? You are my child, Drizzt Do'Urden. My child alone. You are not a surface- dweller and never will be."
Rage swelled within Drizzt as he heard the words, spoken ever so calmly. Lloth fell silent, waiting for her prisoner to speak, but Drizzt made no movement to reply. Gracefully, in silent steps, Lolth came forward and knelt beside Drizzt.
"You've traveled far," she said softly, brushing a few strands of hair from his face. "You were lost, but now that I have you here, you will come back to me." Lolth's lips were painted red and they shimmered slightly as she neared him, her hand behind her back, holding the whip tightly in her clenched hand.
Drizzt's foot came forward like a bolt of lightning. It rammed Lolth in the chest and she fell back with a groan. Out came the whip and it bit into Drizzt. Pain engulfed him and he screamed.
"This is the payment you will receive, traitor!" she sneered. "Centuries will go by and you will know what it means to forsake me! You will see, Do'Urden, and you will die in my chains!"
The whip came down again and Drizzt braced himself for the blow. Tears of burning hatred rimming his eyes, Drizzt gave way to the darkness.
"Wake now," a soothing voice murmured. "You goddess calls you forth." Drizzt came back to consciousness at the sound of Lloth's calling. "Our time is not yet finished."
Drizzt felt the pain of the cuts on his body, but he didn't show it. His gaze met Lloth's and he did not turn away. What now? he thought, wanting only to sink back into his maze of shadow.
"Questions need to be answered," she told him, as if replying to the unspoken question in Drizzt's mind.
"Ask then," Drizzt snapped. Lloth smiled evilly.
"Why do you call yourself friend to the dwarves and the deep gnomes? Why have you turned away from your people?"
"I am not like the other-" Lloth's hand waved the words away quickly.
"So I have heard," she responded distastefully, standing up and moving away from her throne. "I want the true reason. I want to know what turned you away from me and from Menzoberranzan."
"That is the reason," Drizzt told her. Lloth raised her open hand as if to slap Drizzt, but he didn't wince in fear so she decided against it.
"We will discuss that later," she replied pointedly.
"You've made friends on the surface world, haven't you, Drizzt?" Lloth's wicked intentions were reflected in her eyes as they bore into Drizzt. "You are not alone in your quests. Describe your friends."
Never, Drizzt cried out silently. Let Lloth be damned. He would live a hundred lifetimes of torture before he betrayed his companions. They were all he had and all he would ever have.
Lloth waited, watching the anger mounting within the renegade drow. She closed her eyes to concentrate and sent her ideas Drizzt's way, letting them enter his mind.
Unwelcomed images swarmed around Drizzt's head, blocking his view of Lloth. It was if he were watching from above as Lloth took him through the tunnels of the Underdark, retracing the steps Drizzt had once made many years before. Suddenly bodies came into view-dead ones, ones that had been killed in battle.
Drizzt looked ahead stonily, noticing the row of dwarves on the floor. Bruenor was dead, his broken ax beside his still body. Drow magic, Drizzt knew, would be the only thing powerful enough to break such a powerful weapon.
From somewhere up ahead in the distant tunnels, Wulfgar roared, a cry to Tempus. It was a final cry not to be heard again and he heard the screeching of a thousand beholders ring out victoriously.
The images in his mind shifted. Slowly, a certain halfling came into view, a ruby necklace around his neck and a small mace in his hand. The mace would be of no use against drow weapons and the halfling dropped it in his run. Regis's head turned only once to see five drow warriors drop from the stalactites above and surround him. Drizzt watched the drow torment the halfling, taunting him in their malice, giving him small wounds and laughing. Then one of the drow came forward and her sword sucked the life from the defenseless halfling.
Before Drizzt could dwell on the falling body of his companion, the pictures swirled together and sent Drizzt into Menzoberranzan. Chills raced up Drizzt's spine, but he shook them away as he was brought into the dark alleyways of the city.
A woman, her footsteps hasty and quick, was running through the alleys. Drizzt didn't want to watch, but he couldn't close his eyes. Catti-brie ran on, knowing that she was being followed, knowing that it would not be long until she would have to use the sword tight in her hand.
"You're far from home," Drizzt heard a voice say. In slow, relaxed steps, a male drow came into view. Catti-brie stopped, Khazid'hea flashing. The drow laughed.
"You cannot even hope to bring me down," he assured her. Catti- brie's determined face was all he needed as a reply. On the drow came, its blade slapping against Catti-brie's sword. Catti-brie made a weak attempt to parry and it was then that Drizzt noticed that deep, bleeding gash that ran across the woman's shoulder.
Drizzt wanted to rush out to her, but he couldn't. This was only for him to watch. The drow and the woman exchanged attacks, Catti-brie always managing to skirt away from devastating damage at the last second. Still, she had scored no hits on the drow.
Catti-brie let out a deep breath and then twisted her body into a daring move. She slipped down to one knee, leaving her chest exposed in the process. The drow saw the opening, but he didn't see Catti-brie's foot slam into the side of his face.
A silent cheer ran through Drizzt's mind as he saw the drow fall back. Catti-brie's sword slid through him in a matter of seconds. Her shallow breathing and holding her wounded shoulder weakly brought Drizzt back to the appalling reality. Too engrossed with watching Catti-brie compose herself, he never noticed the dark figure on the top of the nearby roof. He never saw the drow take aim, carefully positioning his crossbow. He never saw the drow's finger pull the trigger guiltlessly. But Drizzt did see the crossbow quarrel imbed itself deep in Catti-brie's stomach.
Drizzt screamed and all of his willpower went into shutting his eyes. Then, as if the haunting images had never come, he was back in Lloth's lair.
"Never will that happen," he snarled. "Never would I let them die."
"How do you know that they aren't already dead?" she countered coolly. Drizzt's eyes went wide and he was unable to move, a victim of shock. The drow goddess laughed.
"Tell me, Drizzt Do'Urden," she whispered, "what god's path do you now follow, since you have forsaken me?" Lloth's words were like ice as she breathed them upon her captive. She reached down with her long, slender fingers. Drizzt's mouth dropped as she came forward and he tried to push himself away. He backed against the wall, wishing that his hands were free. Lloth plucked the medallion from beneath Drizzt's shirt.
She screamed.
The medallion glowed a burning red and Lloth dropped it, her hands scalded.
"You damned wretch!" she shrieked as she caught sight of the unicorn on the medallion. "You follow Mielikki!"
Drizzt was confused, but he didn't show it. The medallion had hurt Lloth. His goddess, his saving goddess, heard his unspoken prayers.
"You will wish you were dead," Lloth growled. Hope washed away again as Drizzt saw the fires in Lloth's eyes. Almost magically, the whip appeared in her hands and she came forward in three long strides. She raised her hand, bringing the whip high. Then it fell, coming down upon the defenseless Drizzt. It cut through the air, time slowing, time stopping....